1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reading and writing, and specifically relates to a system and method of encoding (writing) and decoding (reading) sounds of a language for the purpose of transferring word meaning/knowledge back and forth between oral and academic language.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Alphabet blocks have been used as a learning tool, but they teach a phonetic alphabet, while the English language, especially, along with many other languages, is not phonetic. So the lack of definite logic to the sound-letter correspondence is a serious barrier for literacy learning. As a logic or generalization, with most languages, there is no one-to-one correspondence between the symbols used and the sounds they represent. A second essential issue of the problem is that text language and oral language have very different formats and environments. Children learn their first language orally and nearly automatically, but often have great difficulty when it comes to reading and writing for comprehension. Symbols such as visible letters are the immediate “surface” code for text, while invisible sounds are the immediate code for oral language. It would seem logical that sounds should be more difficult to manage since they are invisible while letters are so obvious to observe since they are visible. However, oral language is typically practiced in meaning-rich situations by which meaning can be derived by associating meaningful phenomena to a particular series of sound-coded oral expressions (words). For example, meaning in oral language is communicated not only by speaking, but by factors such as nonverbal communication. A wider avenue for associating comprehension to sound-coded words can come from sources such as the location of a conversation, the relationship between communicators, the time of day, and tone of voice. Oral language can be learned not only by listening but also by observing a wider variety of cues in the environment compared to text language where pictures and a series of letter symbols (such as illustrated books) give oral language little competition.
The standard approach that has been practiced is teaching a brand of phonics that teaches learners that letters make sounds. This approach leads to many overgeneralizations and does not even monopolize on the oral nature of language by putting the cart (letters) before the horse (sounds). Sounds (sound-codes) move meaning in oral language. Sounds are a kind of currency for trading meaning in spoken language. A kind of glue binds meaning to sound code in oral language. So the phonemic (sound) nature of language must be appreciated and accommodated for in all language and literacy learning. Learning beginning with the letter starts off in unfamiliar territory. The letter as the starting point (is often the ending point in the case of failure-like a trap) is supposed to cue to the sound. For new learners, this means that something you don't understand (letters) is supposed to lead you to something that you do understand (sounds). It is much better to go from the known to the unknown in case of a need to retreat back to the familiar to lick wounds and venture forth later. Add to this the inconsistency of the unpredictable sound-letter correspondence and learning to read and write comprehensively is truly an effort. The idea that letters make sounds does not accurately reflect the invention of the alphabet nor does it aid its practice. Sounds existed before the concept of alphabetic letters, since oral language is natural, but literacy (the alphabet) is unnatural as it was invented.
Imagine that long before any visual symbols were ever etched onto the ground or painted onto a tree or stone face, sounded expressions existed as rudimentary forms of language, which eventually evolved into comprehensible and socially practiced and shared vocabulary. So a member of a language group is used to at least hearing but also speaking language in a sound code as a cause that affects a memory recall connecting the sound-coded words to a meaningful association. Thus, when a learner attempts to learn to read and write, the letters make sounds approach is an extremely poor introduction to learning to read and write. This is why many dislike reading and have even less affection for writing. Visual symbols such as the alphabet have no initial association with meaning or the sound code since sound is the main partner for meaning association for a non-literate learner in terms of language. A beginning learner's comprehension starts at zero with non-sound visual letters. Instead of using the strength of ability and familiarity, the reading learner is hindered.
Acquiring reading skill by simply learning to read is an approach that works against the oral nature of language. It can too often be laborious, boring, unrewarding, and detrimental for many learners, since self esteem can drop after repeated attempts followed by repeated failure. The way reading is typically taught involves unfamiliarity, then the reader has to work their way backwards (back to their instinctual listening ear for the sounds of their sound-coded reality), so finally the symbol(s) is associated to the sound. Then, the reader goes to the next symbol in a word then backwards again to search for the sound that was the effect of the letter, then back and forth, etc., kind of like a clumsy saw running back and forth cutting through wood compared to a rotating electric saw that goes in one direction and loses little time and energy. Interestingly, if letters make sounds, why does a learner have to search for that sound?
Developments in this field include Reading Rods® made by ETA Cuisenaire®. These devices are connectible colored rods that have letters, letter patterns, or whole words. These rods are used with illustrated activity cards. An example is, two rods are illustrated next to a picture of a cake. The second rod “ake” is printed on the card while the first rod depicted on the card has no letter on it. Zoophonics® uses a system where an animal (a particular animal is used for it's name based on the initial sound of that name, which is a particular phoneme) is drawn in the shape and vicinity of each of the 26 letters. Read America Inc. has a method called Phono-Graphix®. This method teaches that letters and letter patterns are pictures of sound. Small printed squares contain a letter or letters. These printed squares are combined to form words.